An algorithm may help predict if men will suffer from male pattern baldness in the future, according to a new study.

Two-thirds of American men will experience some degree of male pattern baldness by 35, and the condition is responsible for 95 percent of all hair loss in men.

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Research from the U.K.-based University of Edinburgh found that more than 250 genetic conditions were responsible for male pattern baldness after analyzing more than 52,000 subjects aged 40-69. The men were enrolled in the UK Biobank, a global health resource that contains the data of more than half a million people.

"We identified over two hundred independent, novel genetic correlates of male pattern baldness, an order of magnitude greater than the list of previous genome-wide hits," lead researchers Saskia Hagenaars and David Hill, concluded.

The researchers divided the 52,000 men into two groups - a "discovery sample of 40,000 and target sample of 12,000." Scientists then developed an formula to predict who would develop male pattern baldness.

"We developed a prediction algorithm based entirely on common genetic variants that discriminated (AUC = 0.78, sensitivity = 0.74, specificity = 0.69, PPV = 59 percent, NPV = 82 percent) those with no hair loss from those with severe hair loss," scientists explained. "The results of this study might help identify those at greatest risk of hair loss, and also potential genetic targets for intervention."

A completely accurate algorithm is still a long way off, but the findings could help scientists identify male individuals prone to hair loss in the future.

"We identified over two hundred independent, novel genetic correlates of male pattern baldness—an order of magnitude greater than the list of previous genome-wide hits," the trial concluded. "Whereas accurate predictions for an individual are still relatively crude, of those with a genetic score in the top 10 percent of the distribution, 58 percent reported moderate-to-severe hair loss."